Wednesday, April 1, 2009

If we want to succeed in life, we need to think positively. Our thoughts are often responsible for where we are today in our lives. Our thoughts today will be responsible for what we are tomorrow. We are our thoughts. Our future will depend on the thoughts we harbor today. Positive thinking is important if want to achieve our goals.

If we don’t think positively and we have thoughts about being unhealthy, poor, and insecure, the chances are that this is what we will get a few weeks or few years down the line. These thoughts act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. With negative thoughts we are often caught up in a vicious cycle which becomes difficult to break as we spend more and more time with them.

If we are afraid of losing our job, the chances are that we will constantly be thinking about it. The decisions and actions that are followed by these thoughts will be based on fear and insecurity and not on facts. Anything that is based on fears and insecurities is bound to fail and let us down. And poor decisions and poor actions will lead to failures. Failures lead to our confidence going further down. When our confidence goes down, our thoughts become more negative. And so it goes on.

Think positively. It’s easier said than done. But then positive thinking is not impossible also, right? So how can you actually break this vicious cycle of negative thoughts? Well, there is a way. You just need to understand it, adapt it to your particular situation, use it for your own good, and stick to it no matter what. Now what is this plan?

Just like negative thinking leads to failures, positive thinking leads to success. It sounds very simple, but it isn’t always that easy. So, here’s how you can break this vicious cycle and begin to think positively:

Positive thinking requires you to identify your negative thoughts

The solution is in the problem itself. Half the job is done when we identify the problem. So, if you want to begin thinking positively, you need to understand the problem. And the problem is your thoughts.

So, watch them. Make a note of all your thoughts, especially which occur frequently. Write these negative thoughts down. You will often see how similar these thoughts are. You will also see how one negative thought is always followed by another and then another.

Positive thinking requires you to keep a watch on your negative habits

Years of thinking negatively often lead to words and actions which become a habit. Even if the thoughts disappear, the habits remain. Positive thinking requires you to identify these negative words and actions that are preventing you from living a good and happy life.

These actions are based on years of having thoughts of fear, scarcity, and insecurity and they are of no good for you. These negative behaviors act as fuel to the fire and reinforce your negative thoughts. Note down these negative behaviors.

Positive thinking requires you to stop these negative thoughts

Well, the negative thoughts have been identified and so have the negative behaviors. But if you want to think positively, you need to stop these negative thoughts. A very simple technique which works great is to just watch your thoughts.

As your thoughts follow one another, just stop whatever you are doing and silently watch them. Within a few seconds or minutes, they will stop. Don’t analyze or force yourself to stop them. Just watch, be kind to yourself, and let them disappear on their own.

Positive thinking requires you to replace your negative thoughts

Just stopping the negative thoughts will not help you think positively. Our minds are constantly thinking. And if there are no positive thoughts, the negative ones will stay on. You need to replace these negative thoughts with positive ones.

So, if your thought says, “I will never be able to buy a house”, it should be replaced with, “I will save and plan to buy a house of my own”. So, for each negative thought that you had written down in the first step, find a positive one. Write down all your positive thoughts.

Positive thinking requires you to practice your positive thoughts

Now that you have your positive thoughts, you need to learn to replace the negative ones with the positive ones. The best way to do this is to practice them by repeating them again and again. You can make flash cards and write down one positive thought on one card.

They should be your first thoughts when you wake up in the morning. They should be your last thoughts as you drift into sleep at night. Keep these flash cards with you wherever you go. Look at them whenever you get the time during the day. Let positive thinking become a habit for you.

Positive thinking requires you to practice positive actions

Practicing your positive thoughts will help you get started towards positive thinking and living positively. But remember the wrong and negative actions that have become a habit? They need to be checked also. You need to learn to replace them too.

So, if you want to buy a house and you have been avoiding all discussions and information about it, you need to replace it with a positive action. The positive action in this case will be to actually look out for information which might help you in your plan.

For example, ask people who have actually been successful in buying a house. The idea is to get as much information and detail that can help you make a plan for buying that house which you thought you never could. You will buy that house. It may be a few months down the line or a few years down the line. So, for every negative habit or behavior, learn and practice a positive one.

Positive thinking is very important, if we want to fulfill our dreams and achieve our goals. Our thoughts are indeed very powerful tools. Negative thoughts will prevent us from growing as individuals, building our confidence, being proactive, and in getting the life we want.

If we understand how much these negative thoughts are actually preventing us from getting the life we want, we will be more convinced about the necessity of thinking positively. So replace the negative with the positive and slowly and steadily move towards achieving your goals.